


"I Can Play"

by J000liet



Series: The Douchbag Series [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cuddles, Emotional Manipulation, Kageyama's Clueless, M/M, Matchmaking Suga, Protect Hinata
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 03:24:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10428063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J000liet/pseuds/J000liet
Summary: After breaking up with a controlling boyfriend, Hinata just doesn't want to be alone. Insert Suga, finding a roommate for him. Everything is fine, until feelings get in the way.Excerpt:“Hey babe.”Hinata ignored him.“Hinata, I said hello.” He snapped.Hinata ignored him some more.“Hinata,” Kageyama drew his attention, “number three.” Hinata looked to the numbers on the jerseys. He was number three. They were doing the quick against him. “You can do it.”“Why did you never tell us Hinata could play?” The captain asked.“He can’t.” He snapped.Hinata squinted and gave Kageyama a nod. “Number three.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is kinda based off of a relationship of a friend of mine. I acknowledge that every situation like this is different and I mean no disrespect for those who have gone through emotionally manipulative relationships.

Suga and Daichi hadn’t heard from Hinata since the move-in party, and that had been  _ weeks _ ago.

“That’s it. I’m going over.” Suga grabbed his keys.

“Not without me, you’re not.” Daichi followed behind, grabbing his coat.

They found Asahi and Noya outside of their building about to buzz for them.

“Where you guys off to?” Noya asked.

“So save Hinata.” Suga declared, continuing on his path without stopping.

“We’ll come with you!” Noya chased him down. He lived fro drama.

Asahi made eye contact with Daichi and sighed. He, on the other hand, hated drama.

* * *

 

They got to the apartment to hear yelling through the door.

“You are NOT seeing them again!”

“Suga is my best friend!” Hinata cried. “I want to see him!”

“I DON’T CARE! You are  _ my _ boyfriend and you’ll do what I say!”

“But why? And why can’t I see Natsu!”

“Because that little  _ brat _ hates me.”

“Natsu is not a brat!” Hinata growled.

“Listen here. I got you onto the volleyball team. If you want to keep playing then you know you owe me.”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Daichi slammed open the door with a bang and martched in with the ‘Dad Persona’ that he got dubbed with in high school.

“Hina,” Suga opened his arms for a hug, “commear.”

“Suga!” Hinata tried to run to his friend, but was stopped by a violent tug on the collar of his shirt.

“Get out of my apartment.” Hinata’s boyfriend snapped.

“Actually, it’s mine.” Suga snapped back. “I own It. I’m leasing it to Hinata. And I’m telling you to let. Him. GO!”

“You don’t have-”

Hinata kicked him as hard as he could.

“OW!” A hand was raised. “You little bit-”

Everyone was surprised when it was Asahi to stand in front of the little orange haired man, given his tendency to hate conflict. “Hinata. Go.” He stared down at the man in front of him. Always aware of his naturally scary look that did not match his personality, Asahi glared.

Hinata ran into Suga’s arms.

“Does he have anything here?” Suga whispered, rubbing Hinata’s back.

Hinata shook his head and Suga held him tighter.

The rest of them forced the (now) ex-boyfriend out of the apartment and Hinata wiggled out of Suga’s arms, running into the bedroom and locked the door behind him.

“Let me talk to him.” Noya suggested. He knocked and was let into the room, where he stayed for 15 minutes before he came out alone. “Asahi and I are going to stay in the spare room until he can find someone to move in with him. He doesn’t want to be alone.”

* * *

Hinata was alone in his apartment when there was a knock on the door and he froze.

“Hinata? Its me, Suga!” Suga called through the door.

Hinata threw the door open and hugged him. “I’m so glad it was you. Asahi and Noya are back at their place doing laundry and I was all alone.”

“It’s okay.” Suga patted his head. “Hinata, this is Kageyama Tobio. He just started playing volleyball with the rest of us. He’s new to the city and looking for someone to share an apartment with.”

“Hello.” Hinata smiled.

“Hi.” Kageyama grunted back.

“You two sit down and get better acquainted. I’ll make some tea.” Suga pulled Kageyama into the apartment.

They drank tea, Hinata talked, Kageyama groaned and grumbled, and Suga watched. Kageyama was the opposite of what Hinata used to have. He was quiet and grumpy and uncharismatic. He said what he thought and only on occasion spouted bullshit. He was stable. And that was something Hinata needed right now.

The meeting was wrapping up when there was a loud banging on the door. “OPEN UP!”

“Suga!” Hinata whispered, starting to shake.

“Kageyama, take him.” Suga gently nudged Hinata in that direction.

“What?” Kageyama hissed.

“Just hug the poor boy.” Suga snapped.

Kageyama did as he was told and the banging and yelling continued, wrapping one arm around the almost complete stranger. Then Hinata nuzzled into his chest and let out a soft sob and Kageyama couldn’t help it: he wrapped both arms around him and squeezed.

Suga opened the door without undoing the chain. “What are you doing here?” He growled.

“Let me see him.”

“No.”

“Let me-”

“NO.”

“He’s my boy-”

“EX.” Suga growled. “ _EX_ -boyfriend. Now get lost.” Suga slammed the door on the foot blocking the path.

“Who’s this?” Kageyama appeared.

“I could say the same about you.”

“This is Hinata’s  _ ex _ -boyfriend.” Suga slammed the door on his foot again for good measure.

“Daichi is on his way. He said he’s bringing the rest of the team for a meeting.” Kageyama said blandly.

“Where is Hinata.” The ex demanded.

“He doesn’t live here anymore.” Kageyama snapped. “Now leave me alone.” And he turned and left.

“You heard the man.” Suga kicked the foot and slammed the door one final time. He turned to see Kageyama wrapping an arm around a blanketed and shaking Hinata.

“I’ll take that extra room.” Kageyama said. “I’ll move in now.”

That was the other thing about Kageyama that made him perfect to move into the apartment: he was, from surface to core, a good person.

* * *

“Why don’t you come to practice today?” Suga handed Hinata a cup a tea.

“I don’t want to be a burden.” Hinata sighed. “You probably have great players. I won’t be needed and just end up sitting on the bench.”

“You’re coming today. You’ll play I promise. You can even be on the same team as Kageyama.”

Hinata blushed.

“So things are going well then?” Suga prompted.

“Yep!” Hinata smiled. “He gives me so much space and he pretends to ignore me, but then he always answers the door, and he always leaves pillows and blankets everywhere. He’s always around when I’m about to go out and goes with me.” Hinata sighed. “I like him. He’s nice.”

“I can tell you like him.”

“How did you know that Daichi was trustworthy?”

“He sat down.” Suga smiled and sighed happily. “I was stood up. Again. And Daichi sat down and said he was sorry his job kept him and that he would make it up to me. He pretended to be the bad guy so that people wouldn’t pity me. The entire night, he had seen how I had been getting pity looks. He was the only one who did anything for me.”

“So you think I can trust Kageyama?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll play. But only if I’m on his team.”

* * *

“Suga, you’re la-” Daichi started to call out, but stopped to smile when he saw Hinata.

“Sorry! We had to get some new knee pads.” Suga called out.

“Hinata?” Kageyama looked up from his stretches. “You play?”

“He’d make a great middle blocker if anyone would give him the chance.” Suga smiled.

“Well then let’s give you the chance.” Daichi rumpled his hair. “Kageyama, you’re setting for Hinata.”

“Sure.” Kageyama just kept staring. “What kind of sets do you like.”

“I-I-I think they’re called quicks. I’ve never really hit one, ‘cause I wasn’t allowed to play. But I got them sometimes in high school and I would go WOOSH! then you would go BOOP! and then I would go SWAM!”

“Um?”

“He wants you to set horizontally to where he is.” Noya translated.

“How you figure that?”

“The hand gestures.” Noya smiled.

They played a few points, just to test things out. Kageyama noticed that Hinata was fast, but he also had power. He played like he was trying to escape something. They made eye contact, Kageyama pointed to the left, and Hinata nodded that he understood. There was the serve. Then the receive, then Kageyama made a choice. The ‘king’s toss’. The toss that his team in high school had deemed un-hitable. But Hinata was there. Flying through the air, arm poised and waiting for the ball. A loud smack followed by a bang when the ball hit the floor. Hinata landed with a grunt and a wide-eyed smile plastered across his face. 

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” Noya jumped up and down.

“I just hit it…” Hinata shrugged.

“With your eyes closed.” Daichi told him.

“WHAT! WHY WERE YOUR EYES CLOSED?” Kageyama stared at him.

“Cause I-” Hinata saw all the eyes on him and froze. “I…”

“Hinata,” Kageyama put his hands on Hinata’s shoulders, “We aren’t mad. I’m just surprised. So just tell me. Why were your eyes closed.”

“I’ve never hit the ball when I’m focused on it. And you signaled where the toss would go. And you’ve set it to wherever it needs to be, so I trusted that you would do the same for me.”

“Okay.” Kageyama nodded. “When you land, try to land on your toes. It’ll be better for your legs that way and you’ll be ready in case the other team is able to return your hit.”

* * *

Hinata went from one practice a week, to two, to every single one he could make over the course of the next few months.

“Hey, Hinata!” Daichi called at him after practice. “Do you wanna play in the first game of the series next weekend?”

“Oh! Well, I- is that really okay? I’m the newest member of the team. I don’t want to replace any.”

“I want you to play.” Suga told him. “You can take my spot.”

“But I-”

“I want you to play too!” Noya bounced up and down next to Asahi. “I’ll still be the shortest, but you’re around my height so I wouldn’t be so alone.”

“I want you to play too.” Kageyama added.

“Okay then. I’ll play.”

* * *

“I can’t play.” Hinata stared at the roster for who their team would play first.

“Yes you can.” Suga insisted. “All of us will be here. Daichi, me, Noya, Asahi, even Kageyama will be there. You can do this.”

“But he always said-”

“Oi dumbass!” Kageyama’s cool snapped and he pulled Hinata into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. “He is an idiot. Do you want to know why i’m playing in the neighborhood league? I got cocky. I pushed my team beyond their limits and when I tossed, they weren’t there anymore. They called me ‘the King of the Court’. I tossed and they chose not to be there anymore. But then I tossed, and you were there. You’re always there. I need you to go out there with me. Because when you’re out there with me, for the first time I feel like no matter how I toss, you’ll be there to hit it. If I fall, you’ll be there to make me get back up. All I ask is for one game. And then you can choose to stay or leave and it will be one hundred percent your choice. We believe in you, ya dumbass. But you need to believe us. And I can’t believe I’m spouting this Disney bull right now but you need to believe in yourself. And If you tell anyone I’ve said this, I will deny it with everything I have.” Kageyama unlocked the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

Hinata took a minute and made his choice, he would play with them, because they needed him. 

* * *

“Hinata? You can play?” That was the captain of the other team. They were facing off in the middle.

“Yeah.”

“He never told me. Why did you switch teams?”

“Ask  _ him _ .” Hinata spat out and the whistle blew for the serve. He didn’t get set the ball, but Tanaka did, and they won the point. The whistle blew for a player change and  _ he  _ took to the court next to the captain.

“Hey babe.”

Hinata ignored him.

“Hinata, I said hello.” He snapped.

Hinata ignored him some more.

“Hinata,” Kageyama drew his attention, “number three.” Hinata looked to the numbers on the jerseys.  _ He  _ was number three. They were doing the quick against  _ him _ . “You can do it.”

“Why did you never tell us Hinata could play?” The captain asked.

“He can’t.”  _ He _ snapped.

Hinata squinted and gave Kageyama a nod. “Number three.”

The whistle for the serve. Everything stops.  _ The receive. Run right. Middle and Right wing chase. Stop and switch. Passed Kageyama, now the ball is right above him. The jump. The set. The ball in his hand. SLAP!  _ Right passed number three’s head. BAM! The ball hits the ground. The silence from the other team. The cheer from his. Three simple words that changed his life.

“I  can play.” Hinata stared then looked to the slack-jawed captain. “The reason why I switched teams,” Hinata pointed at  _ him _ , “is because he was emotionally abusive and tried to hit me.” He turned and accepted the embraces of his team.

Hinata’s statement turned the other team on its head. No one tossed to  _ him _ , no one so much as passed to  _ him _ .

And Hinata’s team won. Hinata hit the winning point. Daichi called out that he was buying dinner, and they filed out of the gym. 

“Suga,” Hinata grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Yeah, Hinata?” Suga smiled brightly.

“I think… I think I’m falling for Kageyama.”

* * *

It wasn’t easy. Kageyama was dense as hell and Hinata would admit that what he was going to say would come out of left field. But here he was, standing in the living room, shouting at Kageyama over milk, all because he wanted to do something nice for the person he had definitely fallen in love with.

“I can’t drink that much milk, you idiot!”

“But you can! You drink that much milk in a week!”

“Yeah. IN BATCHES! Milk spoils, dumbass!”

“I just wanted to something nice for you, Kageyama!”

“Yeah, but now we have a fridge full of milk, no food, and wasted money! And another thing, all the nice things you’ve tried to do for me have ended disastrously! The laundry, the cleaning, that incident with the flowers”

“Just how stupid can you be?” Hinata threw his hands up in the air. “For weeks now, I’ve been doing those things to show you that I  _ care _ ! And I do Kageyama. I care about you! I’ve been doing all those things because I love you!” He was angry. “I thought about how to tell you for  _ weeks _ . I asked Noya, and Asahi, and Suga, and Daichi. Hell, I even asked Kurro and Yachi, cause I figured they would understand! All of them said that you would figure it out. That I wasn’t hiding it. That it was so obvious. Well GUESS WHAT? I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! All I wanted was to tell you and have you stay with me. But the second one isn’t going to happen now. You can keep the apartment. It’s cursed for me.” He was crying by the end, barely able to get words out. He walked towards the door when he felt a hand on his waist pulling him backwards. His back hit Kageyama’s chest and his arms wrapped tight around him.

“Idiot.” Kageyama whispered into the top of Hinata’s head. “I’m sorry. I’m not gonna leave.” He tightened his grip. “And I don’t want you to go.” He nuzzled his nose into the orange fluffy mass of hair in front of him. “I love you too.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

Hinata twisted and wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s waist. “I  _ am _ sorry about the milk.”

Kageyama laughed. “It’s okay. I’ll take some to work. That should get rid of some of it. I’m not mad at you. I’ve  _ never _ been mad at you.”

“He would have-”

“He was a manipulative asshole. I will  _ never _ treat you like that.” Kageyama squeezed him tighter.

“I know. I’ve known that since the beginning.”

“Really?”

“That first day he showed up.” Hinata felt Kageyama tense. “You were so… perfect. With the blankets and when… when you held me.” Kageyama relaxed. “You were so wonderful.”

“You were so scared.” Kageyama whispered. “You were just so… you seemed so tiny. And I just needed to... I felt like I needed to protect you. But I don’t think you  _ need _ me to protect you. You were so amazing at that game, how you called him out. I will never treat you like that, I promise. And I know I need to prove that to you.”

There was a knock at the door. “Oh, I forgot!”

“What?”

“Do you want to meet my little sister?”

“I would love to.”

* * *

“Shōyō,” Natsu was curled up by his side, “what happened to-”

“He’s gone.”

“Good.”

“Good?”

“I didn’t like him. He was mean.”

“Yeah, he was.”

“But I like Kageyama.”

“You do?”

“He said he would teach me to serve better.”

“That’s a badge of honor.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. How is volleyball going for you?”

“My team is doing well.”

“If you ever need help, you have an entire team willing to help you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. My team would be more than happy to help.”

“I just want you and Kageyama to help. Do you like him?”

“Yeah.”

“And he’s nice to you?”

“Yeah.” 

“Good.”

“Sometimes I wonder who’s older between the two of us.” They laughed. “Just don’t grow up too fast.”

“I won’t. Does he like me?”

“Who? Kageyama?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m pretty certain he adores you.”

“Okay. You can date him.”

“Gee, thanks.” Hinata laughed. “I’m so glad you approve.”

“Yeah, well if he breaks your heart I’ll kick his ass.”

“Where did you learn to speak like that?"

“Kageyama.” She smiled.

“Well-”

“If you lecture me on bad language, I will leave.”

“Okay, then I’ll lecture Kageyama.”

“Lecture me on what?” Kageyama came through the door.

“You taught Natsu how to swear.”

“No, I taught her to control it.” Kageyama ruffled the girl’s hair. “You still swearing like a sailor.”

“SHE DOES NOT!”

“Then you remember what I taught you?”

“Yep.” She stood and fixed her hair. “I’ve got to go. See you next week, big bro.” She waved and left.

“Swearing like a sailor?” Hinata raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah.” Kageyama laughed. “Hey.” He kissed Hinata on top of his head.

“Hello. Did you get everything you needed?”

“Yep. Let me put the bags away.”

“Kay.” Hinata turned on the couch. “Hey!”

“Yes?” Kageyama turned.

“I love you, Tobio.”

“I love you too, Shōyō.”


End file.
